State Pensions

The State Pension changed on 6 April 2016.

The State Pension is a regular payment from the Government which you can claim when you reach your State Pension Age.

Not everyone has the same State Pension Age and not everyone will receive the same amount of State Pension.

Your State Pension age depends on when you were born and how much you receive will depend on your National Insurance record.

To find out your State Pension age visit: www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension

The new State Pension was introduced for people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.

You will be affected by the changes if you are:

Female - born on or after 6 April 1953

Male - born on or after 6 April 1951

If you were born before these dates you will not be affected and will continue to receive your State Pension under the current scheme rules.

FInd out more information: https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension

Pre 6 April 2016 Pensioners

If you  reached your State Pension age prior to 6 April 2016 and you were in receipt of your State Pension, you will continue to receive this in line with the old rules. You will continue to get both your basic State Pension and any additional State Pension (this could be State Graduated Pension, SERPS or State 2^nd Pension) which you are entitled to. 

The full old basic State Pension is currently £169.50 a week.

Post 6 April 2016 Pensioners

For any man born on or after 6 April 1951 and any woman born on or after 6 April 1953 your pension will be calculated in accordance with the new rules.

The full level of the new State Pension will be £221.20 per week - however, not everyone will automatically qualify for this amount.

The amount you receive will be based on your National Insurance record.

The new State Pension is based on how many “qualifying years” you have on your National Insurance record and whether you have previously been “contracted–out” of the additional State Pension at any time prior to 6 April 2016.

If you do not have the maximum amount of Qualifying Years and you were contracted out of the additional State Pension prior to 6 April 2016 (or both), your “starting amount” will be less than the full new State Pension.

From April 2016 government looks at how many existing Qualifying Years you have and if you have a contracting out record, which will determine your “starting amount”.

If your starting amount is less than the new full State Pension of £221.20 per week (2023/24), each qualifying year you add to your National Insurance record, after April 2016, will start to build up an additional amount up until you reach the full level of the new State Pension or when you reach your State Pension age - whichever happens first.

If your starting amount is more than the full State Pension you will receive this higher amount when you reach State Pension age. This will occur if you have built up a certain amount previously in the additional State Pension.

For more information visit: www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get

You can only claim your State Pension when you have reached your State Pension age and this will depend on your date of birth.

Historically the State Pension was 60 for women and 65 for men. This started to change in April 2010 as women’s State Pension age began to increase - in stages from 60 to 65 to bring them in line with men.

State Pension age is currently 66 and two further increases are currently set out in legislation: a gradual rise to 67 for those born on or after 1960; and a gradual rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born on or after April 1977. The first Review of State Pension age was undertaken in 2017 and concluded that the next Review should consider whether the increase to age 68 should be brought forward to 2037-39 before tabling any changes to legislation.

To find out your State Pension age go to: www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension

The new State Pension won’t be the same for everyone. What you get will be based on your National Insurance record.

Your State Pension will be based on how many “qualifying years” you have on your National Insurance record and whether you have previously been “contracted–out” of the additional State Pension at any time prior to 6 April 2016.

From 6 April 2016 you will also need at least 10 qualifying years to be eligible to receive any State Pension.

You can get a new State Pension statement at www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement. 

If you do not qualify for the new full State Pension there are ways in which you can increase it up to the full amount.

• You can continue to work and pay National Insurance contributions up to your State Pension age and this will boost your starting amount from 6 April 2016.
• You may find that you have gaps in your National Insurance record and you may be eligible to claim credits for these. Find out more here.
• You may be able to elect to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to increase your State Pension. Find out how here.
• If you have already reached your State Pension age you can delay claiming your pension and over a period of time your State Pension will increase in value.

Find out more information: National Insurance Record and Your State Pension

You don’t have to claim your State Pension as soon as you reach State Pension age.

You can delay (or defer) claiming your State Pension which means that you will get extra State Pension when you do claim it. The extra amount will be paid as extra pension (not as a lump sum) but remember it may be taxable.

How much extra pension depends on how long you delay claiming it. The longer you leave it the more you will get.

You will need to delay at least 9 weeks - your Sate Pension will increase by 1% for every 9 weeks that you put off claiming. This works out at just under 5.8% for every full year that you put off claiming.

After you claim, the extra amount you receive will usually increase each year in line with inflation.

For more information: Deferring your State Pension

Receiving State Pension from your husband/wife or civil partner

If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, your State Pension will be based on your National Insurance record only.

There is one exception to this - if you are a married woman or widow who has opted to pay reduced rate National Insurance contributions. This is called a Reduced Rate Election (or perhaps most commonly known as “Married Women’s Stamp).

If you made this choice in the past you may get a new State Pension based on different rules, if these rules give you more than the amount of the new State Pension than you would otherwise have got from your own National Insurance record.

If these rules do apply to you, you will not need the qualifying 10 years of your own contributions in order to get any State Pension.

Inheriting State Pension from your husband/wife or civil partner

You may be able to inherit an extra payment on top of your new state pension if you are widowed or a surviving civil partner. The extra payment may consist of additional State Pension or a “protected payment” (if any).

You might also be able to inherit extra State Pension or a lump sum payment if your late spouse or civil partner reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and put off claiming their State Pension.

If you remarry or form a new civil partnership

If you are under State Pension age you won’t be able to inherit anything from your deceased spouse or civil partner if you remarry or form a new civil partnership before you reach State Pension age.

If you get divorced or dissolve your civil partnership

The courts can make a “pension sharing order” if you get divorced or dissolve your civil partnership. If this happens the court can decide if you must share your additional State Pension or protected payment with your former husband, wife or civil partner.

Your State Pension will be reduced accordingly and your former husband, wife or civil partner will get this amount as an extra payment on top of their State Pension.

For further information visit: www.gov.uk/state-pension-through-partner

For more on Married Women’s and Widow’s reduced rate visit: www.gov.uk/reduced-national-insurance-married-women

If you only qualify for a small amount of State Pension or no State Pension at all, you may be eligible to claim Pension Credit.

Pension Credit is an income related benefit that tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed minimum amount if you have reached the Pension Credit qualifying age. If you are a couple, the amount you get will depend on your joint income and capital (this will include your savings and investments).

For more information: Pension Credit

Every year your new State Pension should go up in line with the triple lock guarantee.

If you have extra State pension or a Protected Payment (over the full State Pension entitlement of £221.20 per week (for 2024/25) it will not increase at the same rate. This part of your State Pension will increase in line with inflation (Consumer Prices Index-CPI).

If you live outside the UK, your new State Pension may not go up every year.